After Arch unleashed the punch, the small cracks remained visible in the air, and the powerful shockwave pulse slammed into the locked door. Crack... crack... crackkk! Fractures began to spread across the entire door from the point of Arch's impact. Then, BANG! The entire eight-foot-tall door crumbled into fragments.
Gurararara! That felt refreshing!" Arch exclaimed, cracking his neck. The snake-fox watched the destruction and gave a small, distinct smile.
Simultaneously, Arch heard the distinct, familiar creaking sound of the System.
*CREAKKKKK
[USER TAB ]
Name:Arch D.Newgate
Age: 5
Whitebeard Template: 40%/100%.
"What?!" Arch was truly surprised. His eyes widened and his mouth fell open. He couldn't believe it: his Whitebeard Template had increased again—not by just one or two percent, but by a fricking ten percent increase!
In a single day, he had boosted the Whitebeard template from 11 percent to 40 percent.
"Is this too fast? Or is it because it's the first time I've ever performed Hakua or used the power of the devil fruit or both..?" He ruffled his own hair, frustrated because he didn't understand how the template worked. "Huuuu... anyways, it's not my loss... Forget it."
Arch refocused. "Okay. Now, let's focus on the task at hand."
ARCH: Let's Go Raid this place !
Hmmm.?
Arch glanced at his companion. "What are you smiling at? Come inside quickly."
The fox followed Arch into the cave, the system interface lighting up the dark path ahead. As Arch entered, he noticed the strange environment: the flooring and surrounding walls were made of steel, unlike the earthen exterior. They walked straight down the path and arrived at a lobby where everything was constructed from the same steel-like material. There were no signs of moss or vines, only thick rust.
In the very center of the lobby stood a round wooden table, surrounded by chairs. On top of the table, Arch spotted an old paper.
The old paper was rolled up and tied with a black string; a clear champagne glass bottle stood beside it.
A human skeleton was sitting on the wooden chair directly in front of the paper. It looked as though this person had been attempting to either place the rolled paper inside the glass bottle or retrieve it—a typical pirate trope, Arch thought. The skeleton wore the remnants of a faded white kimono.Arch approached the remains. As he observed the skeleton closely, he noticed a golden compass clutched in its right hand. He also spotted a golden key hanging on the skeleton's spine.
"What a find," Arch thought. He bowed in front of the skeleton. "Thank you for the gift," he said, before taking the golden compass from the skeletal hand.
The instant he took the compass, the skeleton's finger bones dropped to the floor, followed by its arm, until the entire body crumbled onto the chair and then the floor, breaking like fragile glass. "Hehe, sorry about that, Mrs. or Mr. Skeleton," Arch apologized. "I'll bury your remains later, but first...
He crouched down and retrieved the golden key. He placed both the compass and the key on the wooden table. Then, Arch grabbed the skeleton's faded kimono and checked it for pockets, finding none, to his disappointment. He spread the kimono on the floor like a sack and began placing the shattered bones on top of it.
As he was gathering the rib cage, he noticed something stuck on one of the ribs: a seed. It had already sprouted thin roots and a single, tiny green leaf.
ARCH: " A SEED ".
To Arch, it was both confusing and suspicious for a seed to be growing on this rib, especially since he hadn't seen any moss, vines, or plants inside the steel-lined cave. This piqued his curiosity.
He slowly removed the seed from the rib bone and stared at it for a long time. He then placed the seed on the table next to the golden key. He resumed his work, cleaning up all the skeletal remains. After gathering every fragment, he tied the kimono, creating a makeshift sack, and dragged the bundle into the corner of the lobby.
"Huu... that was exhausting," Arch sighed.
After resting for a bit, Arch approached the table where he had placed his findings.
First, he pulled a chair closer to the sturdy, round wooden table. Arch then climbed onto the table surface itself—surprisingly, the chair and table felt incredibly sturdy and solid. He sat down cross-legged on the tabletop.
He grabbed the tied old paper, carefully untied the black string, and slowly rolled down the old paper.
Then, he saw it...
---------- to be continued-----